Chapter 138: Red Riding Hood (2)

Yuri hired architects from Briol to oversee the construction.

The instructors wearing red caps stayed close to the knights, shouting at them nonstop.

In a short time, they built the training facilities.

At first, they weren’t engaging in real combat exercises. They were simply following extreme drills to reform mental states.

However, as the spirit of Briol took root within Joachim, the training began to evolve.

“Instructor Number 3, what is this spirit of Briol?”

“Can’t you see it, Instructor Number 2?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Exactly that.”

“Pure malice and guts?”

“Training like it’s real combat. And real combat like it’s training.”

“What?”

“What?”

Instructor Number 2 (Gonte) and Instructor Number 3 (Ena) looked at each other.

“What do you mean by malice and guts?”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t get any weird ideas. In Briol, we don’t rely on outdated notions like that…”

At that moment, Instructor Number 1 (Yuri), who was making the “owls” roll, shouted.

“Pure malice and guts! That’s Briol! And now it’s also Joachim! Got it!?”

At his words, Instructor Number 2 looked at Number 3. She cleared her throat.

“Ahem… each instructor has their own perspective.”

“Of course.”

Either way, the training took hold quickly.

Now the Joachim knights were perched atop wooden tower-like platforms, hanging off the edges and screaming in fear of falling.

Instructor Number 1 shouted from one side.

“Owl number 57, do you have a partner!?”

“Yes, sir!”

“How old is your partner!?”

“Se-seventeen years old!”

“What?”

Murmurs arose everywhere.

Even the instructor, confused, raised a leg to kick him, but restrained himself.

“Damn fool… how old are you, Owl number 57?”

“I… I’m seventeen too!”

“Hmm?”

It turned out they were the same age. Yuri withdrew his foot and examined the knight’s face. It wasn’t such an obvious mistake after all.

Yuri offered some advice.

“When training is done, be sure to use sunscreen. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Jump! Owl 57! Emergency!”

“Emergency!”

With that shout, Owl number 57 launched himself into the air. At first glance it seemed like he was diving into emptiness.

But below the structure were three thick ropes at different heights.

Owl number 57 grabbed the first rope, then the second, and finally the third. In the end, he managed to stay suspended without touching the ground, hanging from the last rope.

Below was a mud pit.

The knight who failed the trick had to endure the humiliation of ending soaked like a drenched rat.

“Excellent!”

Owl number 57 swung himself along the rope with effort until he exited the muddy zone.

To fight the Imperial army, agile movements needed to navigate through tree canopies.

When this training ended, arrows fired from hidden positions would terrify the Empire.

“All right, next! Owl number 58!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Do you have a partner!?”

“No, sir!”

“Then emergency!”

“Emergency!”

“Not that kind of emergency!”

“Aaaah!”

The training was proving a success.

Yuri checked the notebook in his hand. When the aerial acrobatics course ended, real combat training would begin.

“Archers, huh…?”

The knights didn’t like bows. Even if mana was infused into the arrow, it dissipated mid-flight.

So it lacked enough power to harm a knight of similar rank.

But Yuri, due to his past-life experience, had recruited an expert who had slain countless knights with his bow.

Though unknown now, once the continent plunged into war, his hidden art of archery would become a nightmare.

Murray, the “Shadowless Shot.”

To kill someone, great power isn’t needed.

You only need enough force to pierce flesh with sharp iron. So what matters isn’t strength.

It’s whether you can hit the enemy’s vital point. Murray’s arrows made no sound, left no presence.

Countless knights were pierced through the throat without even having the chance to react.

“When this training ends, Instructor Number 4 will take over. If you show even a hint of arrogance, you’ll stop being owls and become dogs. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Secret techniques like this were normally impossible to get. But Murray was still an obscure hunter.

He had no idea of his own combat potential in the mountains. He just hunted animals.

That’s why Yuri sought him out, offered him a lifetime contract and pension for retirement, and he agreed to bury his bones in Briol.

Now he was an official.

A member of the Briol Forestry Service who would make history.

“Haven’t Instructors 5 and 6 arrived yet?”

“They’re on their way, they said.”

“I see.”

Yuri, having descended from the structure, crossed his arms. The Joachim knights still had a long way to go to become an elite guerrilla unit.

Trap installation and disarmament, ambush, tracking, wilderness survival… much remained to learn.

“Instructor Number 1.”

Instructor Number 2, Gonte, approached Yuri.

“I know it’s sudden, but I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Look at the eyes of these men.”

He pointed to the Joachim knights, their eyes bloodshot. Though not much time had passed since training began, their gazes already glinted with keen energy.

“That’s what I call a true knight.”

Truth be told, Yuri thought they looked more savage than knightly, but he was glad to see Gonte so pleased.

Yuri nodded.

“Hearing that from Instructor Number 2 makes me happy.”

“I feel like finding you among the allied forces, Prince—I mean, Instructor Number 1, was fate’s doing. For Joachim’s future. Could it have been our destiny?”

Yuri let out a light laugh.

“We’re only getting started. It’s way too early to celebrate.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Then, shall we keep having the owls roll?”

“Yes, sir.”

In the distance, Instructor Number 3 was still making them roll. She hardly gave them a moment to rest. In other words, she was one of the harshest.

“Even I find Instructor Number 3 intimidating.”

“It’s part of the plan.”

“Huh?”

“Instructor Number 2. You’re supposed to be the kind instructor.”

“What…?”

“Our training ends here, but you’ll continue guiding them in Joachim. So leave the mean role to us.”

“So that’s why…?”

Of course Instructor Number 3 did it without overthinking, but Yuri justified her actions.

“Understood.”

Yuri looked up at the sky. The sun, which had been overhead, was beginning to dip.

Thus passed another day in the guerrilla training field. Yuri gazed at the distant sky with a sombre expression.

One day ending meant another was about to begin.

Time flew.

And in the end, an unavoidable war awaited him.

Deep down, he wished he could storm the Imperial palace and kill the monsters using dark magic, but that was impossible. All he could do was prepare to the utmost and hope that Hernando or Asana would bring good news.

Yuri sighed.

“I hope something good happens unexpectedly…”

***

Since the orcs were eradicated, Valshard had enjoyed lasting peace.

Before, the fear of orc attacks kept people from leaving the city comfortably, but now only a few scattered groups of those creatures remained.

The inhabitants of Valshard began expanding their farmland and increasing trade. It also became more common to see outsiders entering and leaving the city.

That’s why, when people appeared in the distance, the guards no longer felt alarmed.

“Wait a second.”

Two guards were on watch at the outpost set up outside Valshard Castle.

One of them, scanning the horizon with binoculars, tapped his companion’s shoulder.

“There.”

“Hmm?”

“Someone’s coming.”

“So what?”

The other was sitting in a chair reading a magazine, Imperial Capital Nights, imported from the Empire. It was one of those trendy fashion magazines popular across the continent, enjoyed even by non-Imperial citizens.

“I’m telling you, someone’s coming.”

“So what? That happens every day now.”

“But they’re coming from that direction.”

“What’s so special about that direction?”

“The east.”

Valshard is located at the easternmost edge of the continent.

That’s why all traffic occurred from and to the west.

The east was formerly orc land—just a barren wasteland with nothing else.

“Hmm?”

The guard flipping through the magazine stood up.

“You said they’re coming from the east?”

“Yes. Could they be settlers looking for farmland?”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“Then who?”

“Looks like people who’ve been wandering for a long time.”

“Really?”

“And they’re wearing clothes I’ve never seen before.”

“New clothes?”

“Yes, you know… like…”

He raised the binoculars again and said.

“If people from the Eastern Continent ever showed up, this is what they’d look like.”

“What?”

The other took the binoculars and looked out toward the horizon. In the distance, a caravan with several wagons was heading their way.

They dressed strangely. Their loose garments fluttered in the wind, and they were on horseback. At a glance, they didn’t look like people from the continent.

“Should we inform the lord?”

“I heard she’s been really busy lately…”

Valshard’s ruler, Archmage Maryrose, hadn’t left her underground workshop for days, absorbed in her research.

That’s why nearly all matters were being handled by the general administrator acting under her orders.

“Either way, we should report it.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go.”

He quickly mounted his horse and rode off toward Valshard.

The guard who remained swallowed hard as he watched the mysterious group through the binoculars.

Everyone carried a sword at their side.

There were rumors that Easterners were martial arts experts. If that were true, Maryrose might have to intervene. If she activated Valshard’s magical barrier, no one would be able to get through.

“Why hasn’t he come back yet?”

The mysterious group was advancing quickly, but his companion hadn’t returned.

They were already close to the outpost. He clenched his fists.

He had to fulfill his duty. Struggling to keep from trembling, he stepped down from the post with firm strides and lifted his chin to greet the visitors.

They exchanged glances among themselves, and one person stepped forward.

The guard spoke.

“Who are you? You must identify yourselves to approach Valshard.”

The other person replied.

“We just want to rest in Valshard for a day.”

She wore a red hat and had her face covered with cloth, so only her eyes were visible. Her gender was unclear, but her voice was feminine.

“We’re a caravan.”

“A caravan? Ha…”

The guard let out a mocking chuckle, but inside he felt a chill.

Lying about their identity was a red flag. He gripped his sword hilt and stammered.

“If you were a caravan, you’d be coming from the city side. A caravan from a barren wasteland? Do you take me for a fool?”

“There are cities in the east too.”

“What?”

The woman removed the cloth covering her face.

The guard was a little stunned. Before him appeared the strikingly beautiful face of a woman with healthily tanned skin.

She gave a wide smile.

“We’ve been trading. Don’t you see the goods?”

“Then… from which city exactly?”

“We passed through so many, I can’t quite recall…”

She turned back. One of her companions, who had been silent, spoke up.

“The place where we did most of our trading was Sachon.”

“Ah, right, Sachon.”

“Sachon?”

“You probably don’t know it. It’s in the Eastern Continent.”

“Eastern Continent?”

Then the guard noticed a flag fluttering.

At first he couldn’t read it, but in the lower corner, small text read.

「Elaine Trading」

A famous trading company known across the continent.

The woman smiled brightly and said,

“I’m Elaine Wood of Elaine Trading, and these are my companions. We’ve just established trade routes with the Eastern Continent.”